Christmas in July
by FlashForward21
Summary: It's the annual Gravity Falls Christmas in July celebration! Dipper and Mabel follow the mysterious clues to find out the secrets of Gravity Falls, one that somehow involves video games, jackalopes, and a crazy Soviet soldier.
1. Chapter 1

_"I know you are, but what am I?" The blue creature asked._

_"A manopus!" His German leprauchan friend responded. "Half man, half platopus."_

_"MAN-HO!" The manopus yelled. The two went to go grab their ball from the lava._

Dipper sat on the sweaty old couch, his eyes glued to the screen. "_Manny and Khan_ is awesome," he whispered.

Out of nowwhere, a white pillow flew across the air. It connected with Dipper's head, causing him to crash to the ground. Mabel roared with laughter from the other side of the room. "Nice catch, Dipper!"

"Nice throw." Dipper grabbed his cap and placed it on his head. Mabel grabbed the remote and changed the channel. "Hey, I was watching that!"

"Too bad. I'm watching the Dizzknee Channel. I think _Pressure Heights_ airs tonight, and I want to watch Abel-" Mabel watch off and Dipper snatched the remote from her. He tried to change it back, but Mabel tackled him. He ended up pressing a random series of numbers, and the TV changed to _Gurl, Why You Acking' So Cray-Cray?_.

During the struggle, Dipper noticed Mabel had a teal sweater with a snowman on it. He rolled away and sat back on the chair. "What's with the snowman?"

"Oh, this?" Mabel dusted her sweater off. "It's Christmas in July!"

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Christmas in July?"

"Yeah! It's my favorite Gravity Falls holiday!" Mabel said with a cheer.

Grunkle Stan walked into the room. "Mine too." He handed the twins two bottles. "Smash these and collect the glass pieces. We'll sell the pieces as chrystals!" He pumped his fist and went to grab some bobble heads.

Dipper turned the bottle over. "I didn't Stan was a drinker. I thought he ate ice cream and watched _The Duchess Approves_ all night."

"Starring Grampton St. Rumpterfrabble as the irascible coxswain Saunterblugget Hampterfuppinshire," Mabel said with a breath. "Hey, my bottle has a map!"

"What?!" Dipper ran over. Mabel peeled off the red label and handed it to Dipper. Sure enough, there was faint writing on the back. "It's a code!"

"Well duh, goofus!" She gave Dipper and playful punch on the arm.

"Haha, ow." He studied the code carefully. "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A."

Mabel rubbed her chin in thought. "Isn't that the video game codey thing?"

"The Konami Code! C'mon, Mabel, we're going to the arcade!" The twins ran out of the room.

* * *

Yuri stood outside of the Mystery Shack, studying the twins through the window. He jostled down a few notes, then clicked a button on a recorder.

"Yuri's Log, Day 2506. Yuri has found the owners of Book number 3. They appear to be involved in several of the summer's crazy events, such as the Waxman Uprising, Conspiracy Keanu, and Yuri's favorite, High on Smile Dip. They have found a code which might affect Yuri's plan. Going to stop them now." He hit the button again.

The Russian pulled out a red book with a golden hand on the cover, and flipped open to the page titled "Teleportation". He tapped the red star on his hat.

"Arcade." With that, he vanished.

* * *

**Alright guys, new story. Should be fun. The upcoming chapters will be longer and more mysterious and action packed, I can guarentee that.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Because while people are sleeping behind said walls, we're explorers of forests and haunted halls! Empty graves and abandoned malls! I mean there's nothing else to do here in Gravity Falls!" Mabel sung with a skip in her step.

"Mabel, would you stop singing the Gravity Falls Song?" Dipper asked. He sighed tiredly. The walk over to the Arcade was a tough one. Everybody was in a frenzy because of Christmas in July, so the twins had to avoid falling snowmen, a psycopathic elf (a story for another time), and an out of control zamboni. Luckily, they made it to the arcade in one piece.

"Why should I? It's a free country!" Mabel responded.

"First of all, that's the 40th time you've sung it today, and second of all, we're here!" The twins entered what was now called "Santa's Arcade." It was mostly deserted; only Old Man McGucket was in there, playing Dancy Pants Revolution for the 21st day in a row.

"Which game should we enter the code in?" Mabel asked. The two looked around the Christmas-ified arcade, which included statues of reindeer and elves.

Dipper gawked at a broken game with a large hole in the size. "Well not _Nort_. There's a Soos-sized hole in it!"

Mabel scratched her chin. "What about _Fight Fighters_?"

Her twin nervously shook his head. "No way. Not since that fight with Rumble McSkirmish."

"C'mon Dipper." Mabel took out a quarter and waved it provocatively. "You know you want to. Just play one game Dipper. It's beckoning to you." She "accidentally" dropped the quarter and it rolled toward Dipper, coming to a halt at his feet. "Whoops...my bad."

Dipper picked up the quarter. "Fine, but just one game."

Mabel jumped for joy. "Yay! But I call Ivan Bearskins, even though I don't know what a Soviet Union is."

* * *

Yuri peered from behind a pile of crates. His hidden spot from inside the arcade was perfect, and he could spy on the twins with ease.

"This is too easy for Yuri," he whispered.

* * *

"HAHA, LIGHTNING PUNCH!" Mabel's Ivan delivered a crushing blow to Dipper's Rio de Death, sending him to the ground and blasting away all of his health. Mabel let out a cheer, Dipper let out a groan. He grabbed another quarter from Mabel's pocket.

"Alright, Mabel, one more game."

Mabel gave him a funny look. "Are you sure? I've beaten you 14 times already and my hands are getting numb."

"ONE MORE GAME!" Dipper slammed his quarter in. Mabel sighed and put her last quarter in.

3...2...1...BEGIN!

To Dipper's annoyance, Mabel had an annoying habit of yelling out her attacks. "ROUNDHOUSE, REVERSE ROUNDHOUSE, DRAGONFLY STING, ROLE REVERSAL!" Ivan kicked while doing a back flip, hitting Rio in the jaw. Dipper looked in horror at his health bar, which only contained 1%. "Now to finish this." Mabel's nimble fingers started tapping all the buttons lightning fast. "SUPER ULTRA MEGA HYPER NINJA TURBO BLIZZARD UBER MAGIC FALCON PUN-"

"RAGE QUIT!" To Mabel's horror, Dipper screamed in frustation. He grabbed a crate and threw it as hard as he could, hitting Yuri in the nose. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground. The twins didn't notice because Dipper grabbed another crate and threw it at wall. He then rolled on the ground and threw a mega tantrum, so loud even McGucket stopped playing his game. Mabel just awkwardly stood there until he calmed down a few minutes later. "Uh, Dipper..."

Dipper placed his hat back on his head. "Um...sorry 'bout that..." Mabel just shrugged.

"Hey, Dipper, look at the wall." Dipper sat back up and looked at was once a wall. A section of bricks had fallen, revealing a dark corridor. Dipper resisted the urge to punch a nearby lamp and stood up. "Dipper, are you sure you're, you know, emotionally stable."

"I hope so." The twins walked down the corridor. At the end there was a staircase, lit up by torches. Dipper grabbed one of the torches and led the way down, which must of been about 50 feet. The ground leveled out and the twins found themselves in another hallway. Dipper noticed four runes etched in to the wall. He held a candle up to them, but couldn't decode them. He turned around, coming face-to-face with a large skull, which had horns and was covered in spider webs.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Dipper bobbled the lamp in shock, and it crashed to the ground. He stepped back, shocked. The hallway plunged in darkness, and Dipper couldn't see anything. He reached out, accidentally bonking Mabel in the nose. "Sorry, Mabel."

"Dipper, I can't see, what do we do?"

Dipper swallowed, biting back his nervousness. "Just, um, reach for the walls." Mabel nodded and placed her hand on a dusty old stone wall. She felt around, and her hand hit a switch. The hall suddenly lit up, revealing a large room at the end of the tunnel. "Let's go!" The twins sprinted towards the room.

Inside was all white, with one game inside. "Conspiracy: The Game?" Dipper wondered aloud. He flipped through the 3 book, but he found no clues. "I got nothing," he told his twin.

"Maybe this is the game where you have to enter the code," Mabel suggested. Dipper thought about it for a moment, then realized she was probably right. He stood infront of the machine, which was dull beige. One joy stick and four red buttons for each direction, along with two buttons labled "A" and "B", were the controls, and the large screen was blank.

"Here goes nothing." Dipper started the code. "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, and A!" He pressed the joy stick forward, ending the code. Nothing happened. The room was dead silent. "Well, I guess-"

The machine lit up, a blue light nearly blinding the twins. "What the-" was all Dipper could say, before he was literally sucked into the game. Mabel tried to grab him, but it was too late; he was gone. The light disappeared, and the black screen changed.

"Dipper!" Mabel yelled happily. Her brother appeared on the screen. Dipper, now 2D, stood on a sandy beach. He tried to speak, but no words came out. Instead, "BEGIN?" flashed on the screen.

Mabel flexed her fingers and pressed the "A" button. Nervously, she pressed the right button, sending Dipper a step forward. "Wow," she whispered to herself. She held down the button, and Dipper ran to the right. Out of nowwhere, a knife flew toward Dipper from behind. Mabel hit the duck button, and Dipper managed to duck in time. The knife took his hat, however. Mabel looked at Dipper's health bar, which was now 95%. What would happen if he lost all of his health?

Gritting her teeth, Mabel knew she was in a game for her-well, Dipper's-life. Knifes, boomeranges, swords, blowdarts, and another psycopathic elf were flung at Dipper, but Mabel dodged most of them. She pressed the up button, and Dipper jumped into a green pipe with 70% health left.

Dipper landed in a dark dungeon, lit up by dark torches. A cutscene played, and a suited man with a pyramid for a head came into view, standing in front of a treasure chest. "I will figure out the conspiracy!" Dipper yelled. Letters flew across the screen, telling Mabel it was the Boss Fight.

"You're no Ivan Bearskins, but I know you can win!" Mabel said with determination.

3...2...1...BEGIN!

The triangular landed an uppercut on Dipper, sending hurtling toward a wall. 3 seconds had gone by and Dipper only had 40% health left!

"Let's do this!" Mabel yelled fiercely. She landed two combos on the triangular, then shoulder-smashed him into the wall, leaving the enemy with 50% health. Dipper tried to stomp on the pyramid, but the guy spun and delivered a fierce roundhouse kick then a double punch. He stabbed the 12 year old boy with a knife. "KNIFE STAB?" Mabel said with shock. Dipper's health had gone down to 30%, but to Mabel's horror the health bar slowly went down; the knife was poisoned.

Mabel only knew one move that could win the fight now, but it might cost Dipper his life. She cracked her knuckles, then began her attack. She dodged another knife stab and grabbed the triangle dude from behind. Dipper hoisted him in the air, and Mabel yelled out her attack. "SUPER AWESOME MEGA EXTREME FIGHTER ULTRA WESTERN HYPER AWESOME SONIC DIVINE GREAT OUTSTANDING TERRIFIC EXPLOSIVE TIER FIVE FALCON PUNCH UPPERCUT FIREBALL OF DOOM!"

Mabel pushed the joy stick back, and Dipper released a frenzy of kicks, punches, and fireballs. His final uppercut fire ball of doom sent the triangle hurtling into the wall, and all the health in his health bar disappeared. He scowled not at Dipper, but at Mabel. "I'll get you for this," he stated calmy before disappearing.

Mabel looked at Dipper's health bar. 1%. She breathed a sigh of relief as Dipper danced in victory. "Just call me Big Dipper!" he gloated. A paper arrived in his hand.

Another blue light shone in Mabel's face, and Dipper appeared before her. He grabbed his hatless head, dazed. "What just happened?" He croaked.

He nearly fell when Mabel tackle hugged him. "DIPPER! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"Not for long."

The twins spun around and saw a very angry Yuri standing before them. In one hand he held a glowing yellow medallion.

"Not for long."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! More of Yuri's backstory will be released in the next couple of chapters.**


	3. Chapter 3

Dipper and Mabel stood fearfully at the tall figure in front of them. He was dressed in a light brown Swedish army jacket, green, brown, and black camoflague pants, and brown boots. Much of his black hair was covered by a black hat with a red star in the center. An AK-47 was slung around his back, and an glowing golden amulet was tied to the palm of his right hand. He glared angrily at the twins.

"You almost defeated Yuri. BUT NOBODY DEFEATS YURI!" He moved toward the twins. "At last. The motherland will be pleased."

Mabel's eyes widened. "Are you...the Winter Soldier?" She asked excitedly. Dipper would have rolled his eyes if a crazy Soviet soldier armed with guns and amulets wasn't there. A man was going to kill them, and Mabel was asking if he was a comic book character!

"What...no! Does Yuri sound like Captain America?"

"FALCON PUNCH!" A pixelated fist slammed into Yuri's jaw, sending him flying. He crashed into walls, and loose bits and pieces flew all over the place. He stood back up and his jaw dropped when he saw Rumble McSkirmish, and his five-fingered hands curled in fists.

"You...but how? Yuri defeated you!"

"Hahahaha," the video game character laughed. "Your confusion makes my shoulder's bounce. I used a salamander as a power up and regenerated my health. Now, prepare to lose!" Yuri launched himself at Rumble, and the two fell to the ground in a frenzy of punches and kicks. Dipper grabbed Mabel's hand and led her past the two fighting men.

"C'mon Mabel, let's get out of here!" The two sprinted up the stairs.

* * *

"Gideon."

"Stanford."

The two sworn enemies glared at each other. Ever since the day Gideon tried to shrink Stan and take over the Mystery Shack, the two had been at each other's throats. They had both expected a non-fighting day during the Christmas in July festivites, but apparently that was not going to happen.

Stan motioned toward his small booth. "I rented this spot for the day. I'm setting up the "Mystery Stand" right here and there's nothing you can do about it." Stan planned on making a big profit by setting up a stand smack dab in the middle of town center.

"Show me your permit." Stan shoved the piece of paper in Gideon's face. The physic boy studied it, and his eyes narrowed. "This is in crayon."

Stan shrugged. "So?"

"SO!?" Gideon tore the paper in half. "THIS SPOT IS MINE!"

Stan picked up a stack of papers and placed on top of the booth. He smirked smugly. "I got copies of the permit, Gideon. Copies and copies."

Gideon instinctly reached for his amulet, but he then remembered Mabel had destroyed it a month ago. "Alright, Stan, alright. How 'bout we play rock-paper-scissors for it."

Stan held out his hands. "Let's do this."

"ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS-SHOOT!" Gideon held out rock. Stan's fingers were originally scissors, but he quickly changed them to rock. "You cheated!" Gideon yelled.

"No I didn't."

"YES YOU DID!"

"No I didn't."

Gideon was so angry he was foaming at the mouth. "AJBJSBJFNKJFSNFNFJSFN!" Gideon took a few breaths and steadied himself. "Fine. Redo."

Stan glared. "ROCK!"

"PAPER!"

"SCISSORS!"

"SHOOT!"

Gideon reared his fist back and was about to punch Stan in the gut when a glowing golden beam of light connected with him. He flew 20 feet away and landed in a big pile of snow. Stan looked both ways and whistled as he placed an "OPEN" sign on the stand.

* * *

Dipper and Mabel sprinted through the crowded center. Chasing them was Yuri, who had shot a glowing beam of light out of the amulet. "Wow. He beat Rumble McSkirmish," Mabel said in awe.

"That's why gotta get out here!" Dipper sprinted even faster, ignoring the horrible cramps he had gotten. He dared to look behind him...

Yuri was gone.

Dipper skidded to a stop, and Mabel nearly crashed into him. "Where'd he go?" Dipper asked. Mabel shrugged.

Another beam of light tore up cobblestones and dirt. Dipper looked up, and discovered Yuri was _flying_. He hovered about 20 feet above them, and his amulet shot out another beam. Dipper ducked as the beam flew over him and took out a snowman's head. Dipper grabbed Mabel's hand and pulled her through a mass of people.

Yuri flew towards them, his amulet glowing. Worried townspeople sprinted out of the way, and soon the entire center was in a frenzy. Yuri soon lost the twins. "RATS!" he yelled. He scanned the ground, and sighted Dipper's blue and white hat. He reared back and shot another beam. Toby Determined was sent spiraling toward a barrel, and crashed into it with a thud. "What the...?"

"Nice thinking, putting your cap on Toby," Mabel complimented.

Her twin just nodded. Dipper wouldn't admit it, but he was extremely exhausted. "Mabel...where's...the next..clue?" he managed to say.

"Hmm..." Mabel pulled out the clue and studied for a moment. "It is the...

...

...

...

...

...

"MABEL!" Dipper yelled.

"Oh right." Mabel smiled sheepishly. "It is the Gravity Falls Museum of History!"

The two twins sprinted off, leaving behind a mess.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait and the fact this chapter is so short. I've written some very action packed chapters, so here's a preview!**

Yuri approaced the microphone on the stage and looked at the crowd. Everybody gawked and stared. Yuri smirked. "Hello, people of Gravity Falls." He waved his hand containing the amulet. "My name is Yuri, of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. You may be wondering was the previous actions of these last few days were all about."

"Will this contain free pizza?" Some old due asked.

"SILENCE!" Yuri screamed. "Silence...or you will end up like him." The boy and the wax figure brought out the gagged Grunkle Stan. Yuri stared at the crowd. "This man, Stanford Pines, has lied to you!"


	4. Chapter 4

Dipper and Mabel sprinted all the way to the Museum. The second they arrived, Dipper collapsed onto the grass. A few drops of rain fell onto his face, cooling him off. Then a huge one fell into his eye. Mabel giggled. "You should wear an eye patch!"

An irrated Dipper rubbed his eye. "Mabel, what do we need to get inside the museum?"

Mabel studied the note for a moment. "Hmm, it looks like a red stone." Dipper sat up and took the note.

"Hmm, it is a red stone."

Mabel blew a raspberry. "Well d'uh!" He hoisted Dipper to his feet. "Let's go get it!" The twins walked toward the entrance, but they discovered the police had built a blockade around it. They spotted Sherrif Blubs.

"What's going on?" Dipper asked.

"With all of that brew-ha-ha, heh, funny word, going on down in town center, we need to protect this museum at all costs. Just in case someone won't, you know, steal Thomas Jefferson's rib cage or anything."

Durland ran over, happily ringing his bell. "The burritos has arrived! And we got the good beef! WWWWWWOOOOOOOOO!" The two cops giddily ran over. Unfortunately, several more serious cops, still guarded the entrance.

Dipper suddenly got a serious look on his face. "Mabel...you do realized what we have to do." Mabel nodded. "We're gonna have to break in!"

* * *

Mabel innocently walked towards Blubs. "Hey there, Sherrif Blubs. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No."

"Umm, okay. What about a best friend?"

"No."

"Hey!" Durland ran over with a half-eaten burrito. "I thought I was your best friend!"

Blubs shook his head. "You ate my Big Mac at Fun Slides in Grand Lakes, Michigan!"

"No, you offered it to me!" Durland angrily took a bite out of his burrito.

"What, I never did!"

"Yeah, you did!"

"Fine, let's settle this. Like men!" Blubs climbed on top of his car. "Attention, all units." Once he got everyone's attention, he continued. "Durland ate my Big Mac and he says he didn't!"

One of the cops responded in a Canadian accent. "He's right, eh. You did offer it to him."

Another cop shoved him. "No, Blubs is right! He left it there and Durland ate it!"

Another cop shoved the cop who shoved the cop with a Canadian accent. "If anything, Blubs' criminal mind hypnotized Durland into doing it."

"NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!"

"YYYYYYYYYYESSSSSSSSSSSS!"

The cops erupted into an argument/fight, which escalated into guns and swords and tasers being drawn. While they were distracted, Mabel let out a long whistle. Dipper whistled back from behind the museum. With the cops distracted, Dipper was free to break in.

He shot Mabel's grappling hook at a vent, and was pulled toward it. He smashed an opening and climbed inside. His small form allowed him to crawl through with ease. He peered through a vent, and was unsurprised to see no cops were guarding the museum in the inside.

He opened another vent, and fired the grappling hook at a glass box. It stood on a display, and held a red gem inside. Dipper stuck the grappling hook in a dent, and grabbed the line, making sure the gun part wouldn't fall. With only a moment's hesistation, he grabbed the rope and lowered himself out of the vents.

Dipper slid down the rope slowly-who wants rope burn? He hovered above the glass case, showing the reflection of a determined 12 year old boy. He reached down with one hand, and grabbed the side of the glass. He tried to remove it...

And the whole world turned upside down.

An explosion shook the entire museum. Yuri smashed through the doorway and threw a cop who tried to tackle him. Dipper desperately grabbed hold of the rope. Yuri saw him and smirked. Dipper closed his eyes as him amulet let go of a beam of light. Surprisingly, the beam hit the rope, not Dipper. He nearly sighed in relief until he realized he was falling.

He crashed into the glass, shattering it into a million of pieces. Several was imbedded into his clothes and flesh. He quickly grabbed the stone, before falling off and falling into more pieces of glass. He layed there for a moment before opening his eyes, dazed.

Dipper looked up, and discovered he was face to face with Yuri. "You thought you could escape Yuri," Yuri taunted. Dipper nervously slid backwards. "You think Yuri doesn't know." Dipper spotted a broken piece of glass, and inched his hands toward it. "You think most of the mysteries of this town has eluded Yuri for the decades he has been here." Dipper's hand was a few inches away...

"Where's your book?"

Dipper dropped his hand. Did the man know? "I...I don't know what you're talking about." His fingers slipped around the glass just as Yuri grabbed his vest and hoisted him the air.

"You do know! And you're gonna tells Yuri where it is!" Dipper felt his airway tighten, and soon he was seeing black spots. He weakly lifted the glass. C'mon, Dipper, he thought. With his last bit of energy he smashed the glass into Yuri's face. He stumbled backwards in pain, and released Dipper. He took a long gasp of air, then ran out of the museum.

It was like the heavens had opened up. A torrential downpour had fallen, and within a few seconds Dipper was soaked. Dipper could barely make out anything in front of him, which prevented him from seeing uprooted trees, knocked over cars, and fallen policemen. He tripped over Durland's body. "Ring ring," the cop said absentmindedly.

"Dipper..."

Dipper lifted his head. Was that Mabel's voice? He stumbled around, trying to hear the sound again. "Dipper! Over here!" He spun around and saw the faint outline of Mabel's sweater. He stumbled over, ignoring the throbbing pain. He collapsed, but Mabel caught him. "Dipper! You're alive!" Mabel hugged him, threatening the cut off his airway again. Luckily, she let go.

He looked behind him, and spotted several glowing beams coming out of the museum. "Not for long if we don't get out of here." He pulled out the red stone. "Good thing I didn't forget this." He looked at Mabel, and noticed several bruises and cuts across her face. "Mabel, are you okay?"

Mabel shrugged. "I guess." She felt the side of her sweater. "During the attack, I lost part of my sweater though." Dipper suddenly realized the severity of the situation. They were two battered 12 year olds, facing with a grown Russian man who had studied the secrets of Gravity Falls for years.

"Mabel, how are we going to get out of here?"

Mabel wiped the rain out of here eyes, then covered them. She opened the door to the police car and hopped into the front seat. "With this!" She turned the keys that Blubs forgot to take out, and the engire sputtered to life. Dipper resisted to urge to face-palm.

"It's not so bad, Dipper." Mabel told her twin. "In fact, you can operate the pedals!"


End file.
